5.2 smartphone Huawei p9 32 GB gray. Huawei P9 smartphone review: binocular flagship. Historical collaboration: dual camera

Case materials: metal, glass, plastic
Operating system: Android 6, Huawei EMUI 4.1 shell
Network: GSM/EDGE, WCDMA, LTE Cat 6, two SIM cards (both nanoSIM)
Platform: Hisilicon Kirin 955
Processor: Octa-core: Quad-core 1.8 GHz (Cortex-A53) and Quad-core 2.5 GHz (Cortex-A72), big.LITTLE
RAM: 3/4 GB
Memory for data storage: 32/64 GB, card slot microSD memory, combined with a slot for a second SIM card
Interfaces: Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n/ac), Bluetooth 4.1 (A2DP, LE), connector USB Type-C(USB 2.0) for charging/syncing, 3.5 mm for headset, DLNA, NFC
Screen: IPS LCD, 5.2’’, 1920x1080 pixels (FullHD), automatic adjustment backlight level, protective glass
Main camera: two 12 MP modules, f/2.2, pixel size – 1.25 µm, dual LED flash (works like a flashlight), laser focusing
Front camera: 8 MP
Navigation: GPS/GLONASS (A-GPS support)
Additionally: fingerprint scanner
Sensors: accelerometer, position sensor, light sensor, gyroscope, barometer
Battery: non-removable, Li-Pol, capacity 3000 mAh
Dimensions: 145x70.9x6.95 mm
Weight: 144 g

Contents of delivery

The device is sold in a nice white perforated cardboard box. On the front side there is the Leica logo and the inscription DUAL CAMERA. The accessories are packaged in separate small boxes made of the same material as the main box. The kit also includes a metal SIM tray ejector, USB cable type C, headset (almost a complete copy of the “ears” of Apple’s EarPods) and network adapter.

Introduction

The Huawei P9 smartphone was shown in early April this year in London. Interestingly, the famous insider Evan Blass, shortly before the announcement of the P9, revealed some of the data about the device, moreover, he named the date of the presentation.

Our website has already published two materials about the flagship gadget from Huawei. Artem was the first to get acquainted with the device, and Sergey wrote a short but informative text “A day in use.” All I can do is give you a little more detailed information and summarize what my colleagues said.

From my point of view, the Huawei P9 has one main unique feature - the presence of two cameras. Moreover, unlike, for example, the LG G5 (there is one regular module, the other wide-angle), the P9 has a different meaning: the additional camera has a black-and-white sensor, it collects all the light, due to this the dynamic range and sensitivity increase. In addition, thanks to the presence of a second module, you can obtain an aperture from F0.95 to F16. Of course, this is achieved in software, but it works better than competing single-camera models.

The remaining features, it seems to me, are not so interesting to the end user: a powerful chipset, enough RAM for any application, a good screen, and so on. In general, everything is like everyone else.

Price and when Huawei P9 will appear in Russia. The gadget will be available in several versions: 3 GB + 32 GB will cost 600 euros, and 4 GB + 64 GB – 650 euros. WITH minimal configuration P9 costs 45,000 rubles, and the maximum costs 48,000 rubles (current exchange rate). Official Russian prices are still unknown, the gadget should be expected in June. There will also be P9 Plus (4 GB + 64 GB), it has a more severe price tag - 750 euros, that is, about 55,000 rubles.

Design, dimensions, control elements

The new product from Huawei is practically no different from their previous one flagship smartphone: same shapes, same materials, feel when using. However, really, why change anything radically if many users who decide to replace their P8 with P9 will remain with the same operating experience. For example, a friend of mine is so used to the old Apple iPhone 4S, that I decided to buy an iPhone SE, despite my persuasion to take the “six” (my friend doesn’t need super cameras and mega-performance of the device), since it has a slightly larger display and is more convenient to “consume” content.

The P9 gadget has smooth body contours, currently fashionable 2.5D glass, and an ergonomic design. It fits perfectly in the hand due to the optimal, in my opinion, dimensions – 145x70.9x6.95 mm and due to the rounded edges.

As far as I remember, in P8 the front panel substrate was pure white, in P9 it has barely noticeable transverse lines. The screen is protected by glass from Corning – Gorilla Glass fourth generation. Visually, it seems as if the gadget has no frames at all, however, when you activate the display, everything falls into place: there are 3 mm frames on the right and left, which is also very good.

Oleophobic coating is naturally present. The finger glides across the screen perfectly, fingerprints are erased easily.

The side edges and most of the back surface are made of aluminum. Some elements have been polished. Frankly speaking, this appearance won’t surprise anyone now: every second chinese smartphone made of hardware in a design similar to the Huawei P9.

This model EVA-L09 is available in three colors: gold, gray and silver. There are also rose gold, white ceramic, and smoky gold. It is unlikely that they will go on sale in Russia.

On the reverse side there is a plastic insert with the inscription Leica Summarit ASPH. The design of the insert is similar to the design of the elements on the front panel.

Everything is fine with the assembly. However, the device does not have any removable parts (except for the SIM card tray) that could play or creak.

On the top of the front side there are front-camera, sensors, missed events indicator and speech speaker. The speaker is loud, there is a reserve, the interlocutor can be heard clearly and legibly.

At the bottom there is a 3.5 mm jack for connecting headphones, a main microphone, USB Type-C and a speaker.

On the left there is a metal tray for installing a memory card and a nano SIM card.

There are models with two SIM cards – EVA-L19 and EVA-L29. On the right is a power button with notches to make it easier to find, and a volume rocker key.

At the top end there is a lone microphone for noise reduction.

On the back of the device: two cameras, two LED flashes of different light tones, a laser focus guidance system and, just below, a fingerprint sensor (it works quickly, I think, similar to the Samsung Galaxy S6).

Huawei and Apple iPhone 5

Huawei and Samsung Galaxy S6 (Pierre Cardin bumper)

Display

This device uses a screen with a diagonal of 5.2 inches. Physical size– 64x114 mm, frame on top – 14 mm, bottom – 16 mm, on the right and left – approximately 3 mm. There is an anti-reflective coating, which is quite effective.

The P9 display resolution from Huawei is FullHD, that is, 1920x1080 pixels, aspect ratio is 16:9, density is 423 pixels per inch. IPS matrix without air gap.

The maximum brightness of white color is 432 cd/m2, the maximum brightness of black color is 0.55 cd/m2, contrast is 820:1.

The matrix does not have the highest brightness levels, and the black brightness is somewhat high, but the contrast is quite sufficient so that the screen is not too “blind” in the sun.

The brightness graph is within normal limits, the gamma is excellent around 2.13, judging by the color levels, there is a clear dip in red, the temperature does not fluctuate and is around 8000 K. The data obtained exceeds the values of the sRGB triangle. This means that the colors will be rich and very bright.

The Huawei P9 matrix has excellent performance, the only negative is that the black values are somewhat too high, that is, the black color is not pure.

Viewing Angles

White color

Grey colour

Light exposure

Battery

This model uses a non-removable lithium polymer (Li-Pol) battery with a capacity of 3000 mAh.

In my operating mode, the gadget functioned for 1.5 days: an hour of calls, constant synchronization with Wi-Fi (every day from 9.00 to 01.00, Twitter, mail, Skype, WhatsApp), 4-6 hours of LTE. The screen glows in this mode for 4 hours.

The situation with games is a little worse: the battery runs out after 3-4 hours of continuous “battle”. The video device plays for about 7 hours (HD).

In the kit you will find a 2 A network adapter. From the original: the device supports fast charging, so from 0 to 100% the battery is filled with energy in 1 hour 10 minutes.

Communication capabilities

The device works not only in 2G/3G networks, but also in 4G CAT 6:

4G TDD LTE:Band38/39/40
4G FDD LTE:Band1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/12/17/18/19/20/26/28
3G UMTS: 800(B6,Japan)/800(B19,Japan) /850/900/AWS/1900/2100MHz(Band6/19/5/8/4/2/1)
2G GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz

Huawei P9 has implemented the original “Signal+2.0” function - a virtual triple antenna. The point is that several antennas are built inside the device. Depending on how you hold the phone in your hand, the antennas switch to provide better communication quality. This is on paper, but in practice I didn’t notice much of a difference, especially when compared with the Samsung Galaxy S6, Meizu Pro 5/6 and other devices.

Another feature is “Wi-Fi+2.0”. The gadget automatically connects to the most stable and powerful Wi-Fi network (in terms of bandwidth).

There is also NFC (it is absent in the L19 and L29 models), the rest is standard for any expensive Android smartphone: GPS and GLONASS, Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2, USB 2.0 with OTG support.

Memory and memory card

The official website says that three modifications are available:

EVA-L09. It is equipped with only one SIM card, 3 GB inside random access memory and 32 GB of internal memory
EVA-L19. The device is equipped with two SIM cards, also 3 + 32 inside (available in Russia)
EVA-L29. This gadget is the most sophisticated. It has two SIM card slots, 4 GB RAM and 64 GB Flash memory.

As far as I understand, in versions with two SIM cards the slot is shared with a memory card.

Cameras

Finally we got to the most important and necessary section of the entire review. By at least, it would be more interesting for me to get information specifically about the cameras, since the remaining parameters and functions are the same, plus or minus, compared to modern flagship smartphones.

What revolutionary thing did Huawei invent and use in the P9?

This model has two cameras installed. This time, not to create a stereo image or not quite correctly implemented background blur (let’s say, not only that), but for very real things.

Let's start with the fact that both modules have the same resolution of 12 MP (BSI CMOS Sony IMX286 matrix), F2.2 aperture, viewing angle of 27 mm, pixel size of 1.25 µm. If you look at the cameras, the right module is designed for shooting in color, and the left one is for monochrome. The fact is that one module uses a black and white sensor. This is necessary to obtain the maximum amount of light. Thus, the sensor receives more information about the dynamic range and greater sensitivity is achieved. The second module fixes the color. Next, the data from the two matrices is combined.

Also, two cameras are needed for more accurate focusing, despite the fact that there is both laser autofocus and standard slow contrast.

Another application of the second module is taking frames with an aperture of F0.95! Yes, this is exactly the hole in the lens that the P9 imitates. In fact, this is where software comes into play again. However, we must pay tribute to Huawei programmers: this time the function works much more adequately than in any other device with software background blur.

I think we've partially sorted out the cameras. What about the Leica inscription?

Somehow it happened that Huawei completely incomprehensibly explained the essence of the appearance of the nameplate of the famous German company specializing in the production of optical systems and precision mechanics devices. It got to the point of absurdity: Huawei was accused of being pure marketing and Leica had nothing to do with it. The answer was not expected for a long time - just the other day a joint statement from Huawei and Leica about the P9 camera was published:

“Co-development is an integral part of the product and Leica's contributions include:

joint development, evaluation and optimization of optical lens design in accordance with Leica standards;

joint development of a camera module design to reduce the effect of scattered light (“halo and flare effect”);

assessing image quality in terms of color rendering/color accuracy, white balance, stray light reduction (“ghosting and flare”), exposure accuracy, dynamic range, sharpness and noise characteristics;

image processing using Leica's decades of signal processing and optical expertise;

determining compliance with the most stringent standards for Huawei's mass production, ensuring consistently high product quality."

Now it has become clear that it’s not for nothing that Huawei mentions Leica in its product, that is, everything turned out like in the joke about spoons that were found, but the sediment remained...

Well, now about the quality of the photos.

During the day the shots are obtained excellent quality: accurate white balance, no artifacts, good detail. As the lighting level decreases, the quality begins to decline sharply. Noticeable monochrome noise appears, especially in bright areas, and detail deteriorates.

Overall, I can’t say that the P9 shoots better than the G8 or P8. During the day they are all great daredevils, but at night they are clearly inferior to the main flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S7 or Apple iPhone 6S.

Separately, it is worth noting the very fast autofocus: during the day it’s on par with the Galaxy S7 – instantly, in the evening it’s a little slower. In addition, the focus is not only fast, but also very accurate: the camera is focused even when several objects are located nearby.

To control the aperture, you need to click on the corresponding icon. The hint says that the subject should be photographed at a distance of no more than two meters. Next, specify the focus point and select an aperture value from 0.95 to 16. Naturally, all this is implemented in software. I’ve already said about the effect - the frame looks good, but quite often obvious “jambs” are noticeable in the picture: blur is in the wrong place, part of the object is out of focus, and so on. You can dabble, but it’s unlikely to be used often.

In the settings (swipe from left to right) you can see the proprietary Leica font. Frankly speaking, if I had not read about it on the Internet, I would not have even understood what the joke was: well, all the words are capitalized, well, a drawing font...

There are manual settings: focusing by point, center and entire frame; ISO selection from 50 to 3200, shutter speed from 1/4000 to 30 seconds; the exposure is adjusted, the focus is selected AF-S/AF-C or manual (just like in SLR cameras - credit!), and the white balance is indicated.

The Huawei P9 smartphone can take pictures in RAW format(DNG). Records frames only during internal memory. The files “weigh” approximately from 15 MB to 30 MB.

As for the front camera, it takes good photos. The angle is wide.

The device records video in FullHD resolution up to 60 frames per second. The quality is normal. Focus is accurate and fast. But you’ll really like the sound: clear, wide stereo, that is, you can hear every detail on the right or left.

Sample photos

Contents: Phone, USB cable, key for removing SIM card, Charger with USB connector, cover case, stereo headset, instructions, warranty card

Product description

The Huawei P9 camera offers natural color reproduction, contrasting black and white images and the photo quality inherent in Leica products. During shooting, the camera captures more light and conveys all the smallest details thanks to two sensors, one of which is responsible for the RGB image, and the second for monochrome. The quality of shooting in low light conditions has become significantly better: 12 million 1.25 micron pixels in each of the two sensors and IMAGEsmart 5.0 technology is guaranteed...

The device works with Nano-SIM cards from all GSM operators.

Historical collaboration: dual camera!

Huawei and Leica have created a unique dual camera: more light in photos and videos. Combination of quality materials, software and two centuries of experience in creating line photographic equipment...

The device works with Nano-SIM cards from all GSM operators.

Historical collaboration: dual camera!

Huawei and Leica have created a unique dual camera: more light in photos and videos. The combination of quality materials, software and two centuries of Leica lens technology makes the Huawei P9 an incredibly compact tool for creating high-quality photographs.

Dual camera: a breakthrough in photography technology.

Bright and contrasting photos.

Dual-core image processor and depth-of-field sensing system speed up focusing and photo processing. Hybrid Focus technology allows you to quickly create bright, sharp photos by using laser focus, contrast control and depth-of-field measurement during the shooting process. The new Kirin 955 chipset is equipped with a 2-core image processor that controls color reproduction and reduces noise.

Camera capabilities.

Settings for shutter speed and aperture values, black and white shooting and professional mode, where you can manually configure the camera in a way that is convenient for you. The Leica camera offers all the features of a professional digital camera in a compact smartphone body. Natural and natural color reproduction is complemented by new film effects: normal, bright and faded. Edit images without sacrificing quality with Huawei P9's professional processing technology and RAW photos.

Super selfie day and night.

The 8 MP front camera will amaze you with the quality of self-portraits in any lighting.

Elegant and stylish.

Huawei P9 was created by a team of leading industrial designers: a metal body, rounded edges and a screen with 2.5D technology. Full HD display 5.2" - saturation, natural color reproduction and high contrast of images.

The manufacturer provides for installing a microSD card or a second SIM card in one slot. Simultaneous use of two SIM cards and a microSD card is not possible.

Huawei for last years overcame many obstacles on the path to success and has already been recognized as one of the best Chinese manufacturers and is one of the top three worldwide. This also affected the cost of devices, which became much more expensive. The manufacturer has stopped focusing on budget devices; rather, on the contrary, they really offer us flagship models with top performance and exclusive appearance. We have prepared a Huawei P9 review that will introduce you to the interesting features of the new smartphone.

Huawei P9 design

The Huawei Honor P9 review phone has a stylish body, it is pleasant to look at and hold in your hands, use brings only positive impressions. Many people are annoyed when the body bends and creaks, but here the quality approach is felt literally in everything. The manufacturer has perfectly adjusted the parts in relation to each other, so there is no discomfort during use. The Huawei P9 smartphone review shows that they made the right decision with the case materials - it is metal, which gives a pleasant tactile sensation.

The front side is covered with 2.5D glass, which is the best way to protect the screen - the most sensitive part of the phone.

The USB Type-C port, headphone jack, speaker and microphone are located at the bottom.

Otherwise everything is standard. On the right we see the volume rocker, as well as the lock key.

On the left is a tray for placing SIM cards, instead of one of which a MicroSD can be installed.

As shown, Huawei P9 Plus review, on the back side in the center there is a fingerprint scanner, which clearly fits under the finger. This is a common solution for the manufacturer, but not everyone likes this approach. This definitely creates certain inconveniences, for example, it will not be possible to remove the display from the lock without lifting the Huawei P9 phone from the table.

In the upper left corner there is a dual camera module, to the right there is a flash and laser autofocus sensors. Nothing sticks out, so the phone doesn’t wobble when you put it “on its back.”

Display

Huawei P9 dual sim review shows that the model has a high-quality IPS panel with a diagonal of 5.2 inches, FullHD resolution and 2.5D technology. With these characteristics, the pixel density is 423 ppi.

A barely noticeable frame runs along the perimeter of the Huawei P9 display - about 3 mm on the sides and 14 mm on the top and bottom. When the screen of the Huawei P9 is in a locked state, the impression of being frameless is formed. They are dark, so they simply blend into the screen. This is a clever design move that has a positive effect on the perception of the device.

The brightness level is adjusted automatically using a sensor on the front panel. The proximity sensor locks the display when you bring it to your ear, which prevents accidental presses during a call. Multi-touch supports up to 9 touches. Huawei P9 display cannot be unlocked double tap, but you can do it easier - touch the contact pad of the fingerprint scanner.

Huawei P9 performance

The characteristics of the Huawei P9 smartphone are based on the 8-core Kirin 955 chip, which is produced at the company’s own facilities. It is built using 16 NM technology and formally represents an overclocked version of the Kirin 950. The processor structure contains 4 energy-efficient cores of 1.8 GHz and the same number of 2.5 GHz. Mali-T880 MP4 was selected as the graphics accelerator. Huawei P9 specifications suggest 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of user memory. There is 23 GB left for the user’s needs, if this is not enough for you, you can order microSD card up to 128 GB or connect an external device via OTG.

While reviewing the Huawei Honor P9, we tested it in popular benchmarks and got the following results:

The test results turned out to be quite good, but they are noticeably inferior to flagships from competitors built on the Snapdragon 820. The same applies to the graphics accelerator, although in real use you will not notice much of a difference. All games run at maximum graphics settings. It plays comfortably, and the number of frames rarely drops below 60.

Autonomy Huawei P9

Huawei P9 gold 32Gb review found out that there is a 3000 mAh battery installed here. The result is standard, and even with such a thin body it would hardly be possible to accommodate a battery with a larger capacity. But this was enough for decent autonomy. The Huawei P9 smartphone can easily withstand a day of average use without recharging. In the evening, as usual, you will have to put it on charge. There are power saving modes that suppress background processes, thereby extending battery life. Huawei P9 64gb review in Russian showed that when reading, the battery charge lasts for 18-19 hours at a minimum comfortable level of display brightness. With continuous playback of YouTube videos at a low brightness level, it lasted a little over 9 hours. In games, autonomy is at the level of 4 hours.

As shown, the Huawei P9 32gb dual sim review from the included charger charges the smartphone in about 2 hours. There is no support for wireless charging.

Multimedia capabilities

The sound quality of the Huawei P9 is superior to many competitors - a pronounced frequency spectrum both in the headset and when played back from the main speaker. In the headphones, the sound is rich and not devoid of bass; the volume reserve is enough for the average user. Individual instruments remain distinguishable and the background does not merge.

As the Huawei P9 64gb dual sim review showed, it has its own player for playing music. Manual settings You won't find it there, you can only activate or deactivate the DTS system.

Interface

Huawei P9 32gb gray review showed that the interface is built on Android 6, on top of which is a proprietary shell called Emotion UI 4.1. The interface is nice and simple. It supports gesture control and has a virtual assistant that makes it easy to use with one hand. When pressed, it expands into a radial menu.

The notification shade has been greatly changed - it has been divided into several tabs. The first one displays the notification timeline, the next one is the menu quick access to the main parameters, and by swiping down you can call up an additional menu where there is a flashlight, voice recorder and others useful features. The user can choose themes to their liking, move and style any elements.

Cameras

Huawei P9 camera review reveals main feature a new model with a dual camera module. Its development was carried out with the support of the world famous brand of photographic equipment Leica. The module contains two Sony sensors with a resolution of 12 megapixels, the pixel size of which reaches 1.25 microns. One module is responsible for color photographs, and the second, respectively, for black and white. The manufacturer came to this decision for a reason; it expands the dynamic range.

The pictures correspond to the flagship level - high detail, optimal white balance and natural color rendition. With the help of the second module, you can get gorgeous black and white pictures, which is due to the extended range. The Huawei P9 review showed that its camera can, without exaggeration, be called one of the best on the mobile market.

But with video shooting, everything is not so smooth. The first thing I would like to note is that the Huawei P9 camera is devoid of optical stabilization, and the software does not cope so well with its task. Another controversial point is the lack of 4K support. Full review Huawei P9 Pro is coming to an end, it's time to take stock.

Conclusion

The line update was successful; we have a device with a premium design and excellent characteristics. Everything about it is good, with the exception of the processor, which is slightly inferior to Snapdragon and small camcorder jambs.

Where can I buy?

At the time of writing the review, the smartphone could be purchased in the following online stores at minimal prices:

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Your rating for the smartphone:

Rating 5

Advantages: design, ergonomics, camera, autonomy, call quality, sound from speakers and headphones, screen with excellent viewing angles and contrast, ultra-precise finger scanner, branded shell

Disadvantages: for some, they may be the lack of an infrared port and NFC. The glass is susceptible to minor scratches if worn without film or protective glass. There is no optical stabilization when recording video, so it is jerky when moving. that's all.

Comment: I purchased this phone at the beginning of July. I picked it up and couldn’t leave without it - it’s beautiful, perfectly put together, fits perfectly in the hand. to say that it is nimble is to say nothing, everything flies. I really liked the interface, the Huawei shell is very thoughtful and convenient. nothing lags or slows down. It practically does not heat up during loads and games, it becomes only slightly warm, no discomfort. The finger scanner is lightning fast!
The camera is excellent, produces high-quality detailed images, even in poor lighting the photos are pleasing, the P9 definitely copes better with photography than its predecessor - my iPhone. many modes, a clear camera interface, many settings for those who understand photography and a good auto mode. The only thing that let us down was the stabilization during moving video shooting, it simply isn’t there, and the sound of the video is more than good, even when you’re filming at a concert.
The front camera is also flawless. There are “decorations”, but they are easily removed and you get an ordinary “as is” photo.)
I read reviews about a weak battery and I’m amazed - my phone lasts 1.5 days under heavy loads, 2 days under medium loads and the screen brightness is about 40%. and this brightness is more than enough, but its reserve is very large. Plus there is a convenient power saving mode, which turns the smartphone into a simple SMS dialer, but very significantly extends the life of the phone.
sound is a different story. It's great in both speakers and headphones (not the original ones out of the box, naturally, they're more just for talking). perhaps the loudest speaker that I personally have come across in smartphones. Now I don’t miss any calls or notifications - I hear the sounds of messages even when the phone is put far away in a bag or backpack.
There are no problems with communication, it catches even where before the previous phone barely gave out one bar.
To be honest, its shortcomings are so insignificant that they are more nitpicking than significant shortcomings. but they may be important to someone, so I mentioned them above in the appropriate column.

Rating 5

Advantages: 1. Appearance - the smartphone is gorgeous (I have a gray one)
2. Metal body
3. Screen
4. Shell - everything is thought out and functional
5. Battery. With very active use from 8 am to 10 pm, you still need to try to plant. During the first days I set it up, mastered it, and didn’t let it go. With a load above average - one and a half days. No games.
6. Very fast and responsive
7. The sound of the external speaker was unexpectedly very surprising - loud and rich, the internal one transmits the voice of the interlocutor without distortion and the volume is also sufficient everywhere
8. The camera, no matter what anyone says, is gorgeous
9. TWO RADIO MODULES. Please note that their work is SIMULTANEOUS. And the connection is flawless.
10. In addition to the phone, the manufacturer included headphones, a transparent plastic case, a protective film, and an adapter from USB Type C to micro USB in the box. (PCT phone)

Disadvantages: 1. There is no sound in the included headphones: flat, only high-pitched. The included headphones from HTC A9, which simply shocked with their sound when played in the A9, here give a sound as flat as the native Huawei ones. Invoices radically change the situation.
2. WI-FI at 5 GHz is slow - no more than 10 megabits/sec. At 2.4 - no complaints. Other equipment gives the network rating.
3. Problems with transferring images and videos to the TV via WI-FI Direct.

Comment: I am extremely pleased with the phone. Among those in use - one of the best, if not the best. The second and third points of shortcomings, I hope, will be corrected in updates.
In the end - a solid A!

Rating 5

Pros: Camera, sensors, sensors, ergonomics, keyboard

Disadvantages: On-screen control buttons

Comment: Camera - one of my friends, a fierce apple lover with always the latest iPhone, squeezed out “well, my photo is not much worse,” and I didn’t even switch it to “pro” mode and didn’t change the settings

Sensors - the screen sensor is very accurate in detecting movements, and the fingerprint sensor exceeds all expectations

Ergonomics - the design and materials are excellent, fits well in the hand, does not slip, the oleophobic coating of the screen works 100%

Keyboard - I was surprised by the error correction, the ability to enter characters without changing the layout (not a big one, but a nice plus)

The control buttons on the screen are the only thing that frustrates, because... This is not usual and takes up part of the screen

I'll wait to see how it behaves in the winter, so far I'm 146% happy with the purchase, purchased for RUR 35,999. in Rostestovsky. (yes, the growth sticker can be easily applied to the back of the phone)

Ivankin Konstantin July 29, 2016, Moscow \Using experience: less than a month

Rating 5

Pros: I like everything, especially the very responsive fingerprint scanner. Some applications can use them instead of a password (Alfabank / Yandex key), authorization time is reduced significantly.
The redesign of the desktop in iOS style also turned out to be convenient (all application icons are on the desktops, there is no menu with programs).
No paid slag software that cannot be removed!

Disadvantages: Expensive, bought from Huawei officials. Just so as not to run into Chinese firmware and have a glass guarantee as a bonus.
Weak battery, 10-20 percent weaker than the xperia z3 from two or three years ago.

The main trump card of this premium device in a thin aluminum case is not even latest processor, but a dual main camera. At the same time, one of its matrices is color, the other is monochrome, and the optics for both proudly bear the Leica brand. Vesti.Hi-tech found out the pros and cons of Huawei P9.

Along with the Huawei P9 Plus and TalkBand B3, the Huawei P9 smartphone was first unveiled at an event in London in early April. Judging by the manufacturer's statement, new devices with dual cameras should change the way people think about mobile photography. The fact is that these smartphones were created by Huawei in collaboration with Leica Camera AG, a leader in the production of optical systems and precision mechanics devices. At the same time, the tandem of black-and-white and color cameras is designed to provide natural color reproduction, depth and detail in each frame, as well as confident shooting even in low light conditions.

For the international market, the release of three P9 models is planned - EVA-L29 (2 SIM cards, 64 GB of internal and 4 GB of RAM), EVA-L19 (2 SIM cards, 32 GB of internal and 3 GB of RAM) and EVA-L09 (1 SIM card, 32 GB internal and 3 GB RAM). In addition, these models differ in the available 4G LTE frequencies, as well as in support for the NFC interface, which only the EVA-L09 has. In turn, 2-SIM versions allow you to install a microSD memory expansion card instead of the second subscriber identification module. Note that the most powerful model EVA-L29 received only a golden body color. In total, the reference case design offers several colors, including white, titanium (gray), silver, rose gold and two more shades of gold. The EVA-L19 model has been available in Russia since the beginning of June, which is what we got for testing.

Specifications

Model: EVA-L19
OS: Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) with EMUI 4.1 shell
Processor: HiSilicon Kirin 955 8-core 64-bit processor, ARM big.LITTLE GTS architecture, ARMv8-A instruction set, (4 ARM Cortex-A72 cores, 2.5 GHz + 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores, 1.8 GHz ), Smart i5 coprocessor for working with sensors
Graphics subsystem: ARM Mali-T880 MP4 (900 MHz)
RAM: 3 GB, LPDDR4, 2-channel, 64-bit
Storage memory: 32 GB, microSD/HC/XC memory card slot (up to 128 GB)
Interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.2 (+BLE), microUSB for charging/syncing, 3.5 mm headphone jack, USB-OTG
Screen: capacitive, JDI IPS-Neo, 5.2-inch diagonal, resolution 1920x1080 pixels, pixel density per inch 424 ppi, brightness 500 cd/sq. m, color gamut 96% NTSC, protective glass 2.5D Gorilla Glass 4
Main camera: matrix - 12 MP (color, RGB) + 12 MP (monochrome), Sony IMX286, f/2.2 aperture, EGF 27 mm, hybrid autofocus (laser, contrast, depth of field measurement), digital stabilization, dual two-color flash, video 1080p@60 fps, time-lapse recording (720p) and slo-mo (720p@120 fps), digital zoom 4x
Front camera: 8 MP matrix, Sony IMX179, f/2.4 aperture, 26 mm EGF, video 1080p@30 fps
Network: 2G, 3G (HSPA+, up to 42 Mbit/s), 4G LTE Cat. 6 (up to 150/50 Mbit/s); LTE-FDD: band 1, 3, 4, 7, 20; LTE-TDD: band 38, 39, 40, 41
SIM card configuration: nanoSIM (4FF format) + nanoSIM (4FF format)/microSD
SIM card operating mode: Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS)
Navigation: GPS/GLONASS/BDS, A-GPS
Sensors: accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, light and proximity sensors, fingerprint scanner
Battery: non-removable, lithium polymer, 3,000 mAh
Colors: silver, gold, titanium (gray)
Dimensions: 145x70.9x6.95 mm
Weight: 144 grams

Design, ergonomics

The signature minimalist style of premium Huawei smartphones can perhaps be characterized by a certain compromise between simplicity and elegance.

The design of the flagship P9 brings it closer to its predecessors in the series, including the previous model. The body of the new device is made of aluminum alloy used in the aerospace industry.

To achieve a matte surface (slightly rough to the touch), the manufacturer used the technique of applying serifs and polishing the metal at the micron level. But the diamond-cut shiny chamfers on the rounded edges of the device are not only spectacular, but also improve the ergonomics of the P9.

The side frames around the screen seem to remain as narrow as before. At the same time, the new generation 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protective glass, which protects the display from minor damage, smoothly “flows” along the edges. Plastic inserts on metal back cover necessary for the device's antennas. For the EVA-L19 model, there are three body colors - silver, gold and titanium (gray).

Compared to its predecessor, the plan dimensions of the P9 remained virtually unchanged - 145x70.9 mm versus 144.9x72.1 mm. Keeping the weight at 144 g, new flagship slightly increased in thickness (from 6.4 mm to 6.95 mm). You can evaluate the mass-dimensional characteristics of the new product by comparing it with the “standard” for 5.2-inch smartphones - (145x70.9x6.95 mm and 144 g versus 147x72.6x7.9 mm and 136 g). Note that the difference in weight was primarily influenced by the plastic case of the “standard”.

At the top of the front panel, completely covered protective glass 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 4, the P9 has a speaker grille, under which the charging/event indicator is hidden. To the left of it are the light sensor and the front camera lens.

The lower plate under the display is now “decorated” with the Huawei logo (it was not there). The control panel touch buttons “Back”, “Home” and “Recent Applications” are on-screen here (icons “triangle”, “circle” and “square”, respectively). In the settings it is easy to change the order of these icons, as well as add a fourth one to call the notification panel.

On the right edge there is a volume rocker and a power/lock button (in a small recess), which are very different in size.

In addition, the surface of the latter received a carved texture, which makes it easy to distinguish it by touch. The travel of both keys is quite short and hard.

A closed combination slot with a tray for two places has now been moved to the left edge, one of which is intended for a nanoSIM format subscriber identification module, and the other for alternative installation, either a second nanoSIM or microSD memory card. The key to the slot lock is included with the smartphone (you can also use a thin paperclip as a master key).

At the bottom end we put together a 3.5 mm audio headset connector (for the “mini-jack”), a hole for a conversational microphone, a symmetrical USB Type-C connector, surrounded by two heads of mounting screws, and a decorative grille for the “multimedia” speaker.

At the same time, at the top end there is only a hole left for the second microphone.

On the radio-transparent plate of the rear panel there is a place for two main camera lenses, laser autofocus and a dual two-color LED flash. At the same time, to the right of them the Leica logo is added and the main parameters of the lens optics are indicated (Summarit H 1: 2.2/27 ASPH). The square touch pad of the fingerprint scanner is made in a certain recess.

From the inscription at the bottom of the rear panel, decorated with another Huawei logo, you can find out the model number, company name and country of production.

The rather thin metal body of the P9 fits comfortably in the palm of your hand and does not cause any unpleasant sensations, thanks to its smooth contours. Since operating a 5.2-inch device with one hand is not convenient for everyone, the settings provide tools to compensate for this disadvantage.

Screen, camera, sound

In turn, the front camera, based on an 8-megapixel Sony IMX179 Exmor photo module (optical sensor size 1/3.2 inches), received a wide-angle lens with an EGF of 26 mm and an aperture of f/2.4. The maximum resolution here is 3264x2448 pixels (8 MP, 4:3), 3264x1840 pixels (6 MP, 16:9) and 2448x2448 pixels (6 MP, 1:1), respectively. By the way, a camera with similar capabilities is installed in the “large” flagship.

Both cameras in the P9 can shoot in Full HD resolution (1920x1080 pixels, 16:9) with a frame rate of 30 fps, while the frequency of the main camera can be increased to 60 fps. All content is saved in MP4 container files (AVC - video, AAC - audio). A recording format with a 4K resolution, as in the previous flagship, is not provided in the P9 photo module. But now slow motion shooting is available (up to four times, 720p@120 fps), as well as time-lapse recording (720p).

The Camera app's interface is quite simple. Swiping left opens the contextual settings screen (menu items depend on the selected mode), swiping right opens a list of available shooting modes. There are almost a dozen of them for the main camera (more precisely, 14). Of these, it is worth noting “Monochrome” for black and white shooting with the appropriate sensor.

By sliding a small dot (swipe up from the bottom edge of the viewfinder) you can get into the “Professional” mode. Here, in particular, you select the exposure metering method (evaluative, center-weighted, spot), ISO (from 50 to 3,200), shutter speed (from 1/4,000 to 30 seconds), exposure compensation (from -4 to +4), focusing (AF-C, AF-S, MF) and white balance (auto, presets, manual). In turn, on the contextual settings screen, an option appears to select the RAW file format.

IN normal mode“Photo”, in which you can adjust contrast, brightness and saturation, also offers eight filters (“Blue”, “Nostalgia”, “Dawn”, etc.). For shooting in the dark - the "Night Shot" and "Light" modes, where, in particular, the "Light of Lanterns", "Light Graffiti", "Water" and "Stars" presets are collected - a tripod is required.

In the settings, you can select the "Film Effect" option - Standard (standard), Vivid Colors (bright colors) and Smooth Colors (soft colors), the meaning of which in translation is called "normal", "bright" and "faded". As you can see in the photo above, the translation of the last term is not very successful, since the faded photo turned out to be with “regular film”.

A special icon at the top of the viewfinder screen is used to switch to wide aperture shooting mode. Software processing allows you to emulate the aperture of a virtual lens in the range f/16.0-f/0.95. This makes it easy to get versions of the same shot with different depths of field.

The “multimedia” speaker installed on the bottom end of the case sounds quite loud at a solid “four” (purely subjective - a lot of “glass”). By regular means Playback of, for example, FLAC files created by audio compression codecs without loss of quality is available. But DTS (Digital Theater System) sound enhancement technology can only be used with headphones. For unknown reasons, the new flagship does not have a built-in FM tuner. Among the pre-installed programs for sound there is also a simple “Dictaphone” that uses a microphone on the top end, and writes content to M4A files (an improved version of MP3, with the possibility of lossless compression).

Filling, performance

The new flagship debuted the HiSilicon Kirin 955 system-on-chip (SoC). This chip, like the Kirin 950, is produced at the facilities of the Taiwanese company TSMC using the 16-nm FinFET Plus process technology. Let us recall that the previous flagship is content with an 8-core HiSilicon Kirin 930 crystal (4 ARM Cortex-A53e cores, 2.0 GHz + 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores, 1.5 GHz), created in compliance with 28 nm design standards.

The Kirin 955 is based on an 8-core 64-bit processor with four ARM Cortex-A72 cores, the frequency of which is “overclocked” to 2.5 GHz, and four Cortex-A53 cores with a maximum frequency of 1.8 GHz in the ARM big.LITTLE configuration GTS. The ARM Mali-T880 MP4 accelerator with four execution units clocked at 900 MHz is responsible for processing graphics data. The Smart i5 coprocessor handles the entire set of sensors, including the fingerprint scanner. In addition to the 2-core ISP signal processor for image processing and the “music” DSP Tensilica HiFi 4, the chip integrates a 2-channel LPDDR3/LPDDR4 memory controller, as well as an LTE modem that supports the Cat.6 mobile terminal category (300/50 Mbit/ With). On board the P9 carries 3 GB of LPDDR4 RAM. Theoretically (due to increased clock frequency ARM Cortex-A72 cores) Kirin 955 should provide a slight improvement in performance compared to the Kirin 950. At the same time, the new chip is still inferior to record holders such as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 and Samsung Exynos 8890.

This is clear, for example, from the results of synthetic tests AnTuTu Benchmark, where the top lines of the table are occupied by Samsung smartphones Galaxy S7 Edge (Exynos 8890) and Xiaomi Mi 5 (Snapdragon 820).

When assessing the amount of horsepower and the efficiency of using processor cores (Geekbench 3, Vellamo), the position of the P9 smartphone looks quite optimistic.

On the Epic Citadel visual test settings (High Performance, High Quality and Ultra High Quality), the average frame rate changed as follows - 60.2 fps, 60.1 fps and 46.8 fps, respectively.

On the universal gaming benchmark 3DMark, where the P9 was tested on the recommended Sling Shot set (ES 3.1), a result of 812 points was recorded. There were no problems with games, including “heavy” ones (Dead Trigger 2, Asphalt 8).

In turn, the total number of points scored by the smartphone on the cross-platform benchmark Base Mark OS II was 1851.

Immediately after launch, of the 32 GB of internal memory, approximately 25.1 GB are available, and 23.4 GB are free. Let us recall that the previous flagship (model GRA_UL00) was given only 16 GB, of which approximately 10.4 GB remains for the user. To expand storage, the P9 has a combined slot designed for a second nanoSIM or a microSD/HC/XC memory card with a capacity of up to 128 GB (like its predecessor). In addition, thanks to the support of USB-OTG technology, you can also connect a flash drive to the device. However, the lack of a corresponding cable (USB-OTG Type-C) in the kit did not allow us to test this possibility in practice.

If two subscriber identification modules are installed in nanoSIM (4FF) format, they are connected to one radio module and operate in Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS) mode, that is, they are constantly active, but if one of them is busy, then at the same time it is unavailable It turns out there is another one too. Among the 4G frequency bands of the P9 smartphone, the following are of interest to Russian users: LTE-FDD - Band 3 (1,800 MHz), Band 7 (2,600 MHz) and Band 20 (800 MHz), as well as LTE-TDD - Band 38 (2,600 MHz) and Band 40 (2,300 MHz). The wireless communications suite also includes a dual-band Wi-Fi module 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz) and Bluetooth 4.2 (BLE).

To increase operating speed, Wi-Fi+ 2.0 algorithms automatically sort networks by signal strength and also provide “smart” switching between Wi-Fi and mobile networks data transfer in search of a better connection. But Signal+ 2.0 technology, thanks to the so-called virtual triple antenna, helps you choose the most optimal communication mode without worrying about the position of the device during a call, and also improve the quality of the connection while driving at high speed.

GPS, GLONASS and BDS satellite systems can be used for positioning and navigation. A-GPS mode (coordination over Wi-Fi and cellular networks) is also available.

Compared to the previous flagship - the capacity of the non-removable lithium polymer battery P9 increased by 320 mA*h and amounted to 3,000 mA*h (versus 2,680 mA*h). A charger (5 V/2 A) is supplied with the smartphone, but we did not have one during the test. According to Malinin-Burenin (3,000 mAh/2,000 mA = 1.5 hours), the time to fill the P9 battery from 0 to 100% in this case is at least one and a half hours.

The AnTuTu Tester program, having worked with the smartphone’s battery, estimated the achieved result at an unimpressive 6,289 points. At the same time, a test set of videos in MP4 format (hardware decoding) and Full HD quality at full brightness (Performance mode) played continuously for about 5.5 hours.

In the "Advanced Settings" (subsection "Battery Manager") three modes are offered - "Productive" (online video, games), "Smart" (everyday work) and "Energy Saving". In the latter case (by default, at 8% charge level), the device turns into a regular “dialer”, when you can only make voice calls, view contacts and exchange messages. To reduce power consumption, several options are also provided, including reducing the screen resolution (up to 720p), as well as prohibiting applications from running when going into sleep mode.

Software Features

The P9 smartphone runs under operating control Android systems 6.0, on top of which the proprietary EMUI 4.1 shell is stretched.

All applications whose icons can be grouped into folders are located on desktops, but there is no separate application menu. The home screen style can be easily changed from “Normal” to “Simple” with a tiled interface. Among the pre-installed applications it is worth noting useful program"Health" monitors the distance traveled and calories burned. The icon of this application is constantly present in the status bar and notification panel, which consists of two tabs ("Notifications" and "Icons"). By the way, if there are no new notifications, icons for quick access are immediately displayed on it.

The “Control” section (in particular, the “Control button” and “Movement” subsections) contains settings that allow you to comfortably control your smartphone, including with one hand. Using control gestures, you can, for example, mute the sound, reduce the volume, answer a call, and also launch a specific application (by drawing the corresponding letter on the display with your knuckle). The smartphone inherited the ability to take “smart” screenshots, including “long” ones that occupy several screens. Like the new flagship, it can make video recordings from the screen (screencasts), but it does not retain the ability to divide one screen for two applications.

The P9 has a fingerprint scanner, which (according to unofficial information) creates a three-dimensional image of the fingerprint, where not only the shape, but also the depth of the papillary patterns matters. Registering even one (out of five) fingerprints allows you not only to quickly unlock your smartphone, but also to increase the level of security for access to personal folders and/or applications. Using the scanner's touch pad (no fingerprint registration required), you can also answer a voice call, turn off an alarm, open the notification panel, scroll through images, and take a photo or video from the Camera app.

Purchase, conclusions

Raising the bar for the top models of the P family, the new flagship from Huawei is impressive in a good way. Although the company this time focused on a dual camera with Leica technologies, the stylish design of the thin metal body also did not disappoint. A fast fingerprint scanner is not superfluous in using the device. In addition, the powerful filling of this smartphone is seasoned with functional proprietary software.

However, it was not without its weak points. Thus, the main photo module of the new product has lost optical image stabilization. I was not too pleased, at least during video playback, with the average battery life of the P9. The lack of a built-in FM tuner, as well as the mandatory choice between a second SIM card and memory expansion, is difficult to attribute to the advantages of the new device.

Among premium devices from other leading manufacturers, Huawei P9 will certainly stand out with its main “zest” - a dual Leica camera with color and monochrome matrices. But also other top models, for example,